During the first leg in Square Enix's planned lecture tours, Yusuke Naora sat down at SMU Guildhall to talk all things Final Fantasy art and his history with the series. Chief among them was an inside look into the development of Final Fantasy XV and the concept process involved in creating works for the Crown City of Insomnia, located in the modern kingdom of Lucis.
With regards to Final Fantasy XV the artists had to deal with physically based rendering,…

During today's Active Time Report Square Enix let loose a couple of new videos focusing on Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, it's dungeons and wildlife.
Starting off with a bit of basic gameplay, the pre-recorded dungeon clip that follows takes Noctis and friends into a dark cavern where they face off against a horde of goblins. The team's goal is to create the dangerous feeling of dungeons from Final Fantasy's past.
The wildlife video - said to be done in the style…

Today's London Active Time Report went above and beyond expectations highlighting not only Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, but once again veering off into a show largely about Final Fantasy XV and its upcoming demo. Hajime Tabata took point along with UK Community Manager Dan Set to answer a few fan questions along with a few surprises as part of the team's European promotional tour. We've included a summary of everything shown following the video.
Q&A Section
Is it possible to disable the…

Starting tomorrow at 6AM EST Hajime Tabata will be leading the next Active Time Report broadcast from Square Enix's London offices following several rounds of media events. This time, we'll be hearing more about Final Fantasy Type-0 HD along with a few more bits of information on FFXV as we near closer to the demo's release. Unlike typical ATRs, however, this one will be available in English straight from the get-go with a slated appearance by Square Enix UK Community…

Square Enix is bringing just a handful of titles to PAX East this year, highlighted by several instances of Final Fantasy.
At their booth, the company will be bringing along playable versions of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Life is Strange. FFXIV in particular will see the return of the Battle Challenge, featuring the Lady of the Frost, Shiva. There fans will have a chance to win the exclusive "I Beat Shiva" t-shirt.
Additionally, Square Enix…

Square Enix has released a new set of Final Fantasy XV screenshots today, detailing more of what's to be expected in the upcoming demo release next month.
The Final Fantasy XV screenshots show more of the game’s combat system. Noctis and pals are seen fighting at night, when enemies - such as goblins - become much more dangerous and capable of inflicting status debuffs such as poison. We've also a look at the gas station, the game's camping menu, Noctis' red…

Square Enix Europe has confirmed the time and date for the next Active Time Report broadcast, following information today that we'd be looking at another one next week.
According to a new blog post, Final Fantasy Type-0 and XV director Hajime Tabata is heading to London. There he will be talking about Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and "may a little bit more about Final Fantasy XV." The event will take place on February 26th at 11:00AM GMT/6AM EST over on…

Square Enix Japan just got done hosting a 'Square Enix Presents' event which featured Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata showing off video footage of the Final Fantasy XV demo, that's to come packaged with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, in action.
We've taken notes on the important parts of the demo so those of you who missed it or those who can't speak Japanese can find out the latest.
Events kicked off with the reveal of the first major piece of Final…

Final Fantasy XV's game development progress has reached the 60% mark, give or take according to director Hajime Tabata. During the latest Active Time Report he explained that a lot of progress has been done on the game's systems.
As things start to come together, however, he says that number could jump to 80% in one go. For now though, the team is fairly deep into development despite the lack of any concrete release timing. Previously Tabata had stated that the…

Square Enix held a special broadcast this morning to give fans a closer look at what they can expect when they put in their codes for Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae next month. Director Hajime Tabata took up hosting duties once again as he shared playable versions of the demo in full detail, offering up explanations for the game's controls and other mechanics with a new video detailing inputs for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.
Continuing on, Tabata…

High resolution versions of this week's Famitsu magazine scans are out depicting both Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. Much of the information - at least on XV - has been covered in our original report here. Type-0 HD's images, however, may be considered spoilers. The beginning pages focus on the new, secret movie that Visual Works, Square Enix's CG department, has created for the game along with the new song composed for it - UTAKATA.
Type-0's article…

Due out in just four weeks from now, Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae will be giving fans their first taste of the game after nearly a decade of patient waiting. Built atop the Luminous Engine, Square Enix has created a vast world to explore filled with plains, forests and a variety of wildlife. The word Duscae is in reference to the region the demo will take place in - which is just a small fraction of the many other areas…

This week's Famitsu has the latest scoop on Final Fantasy XV's demo, Episode Duscae, set to arrive with first print copies of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD next month.
Branching off from the bit of camping information we learned from Jump last week, Famitsu's article goes into more detail on the Duscae region itself and what you'll be able to do there. Duscae is an area with a lot of plains but also includes a mountainous area with trees scattered about.…

Square Enix has just released a new set of screenshots from Final Fantasy XV - all of which give a little glimpse at the areas and scenarios players will be able to tackle in the 'Episode Duscae' demo that comes packaged with the first-print run of Final Fantasy Type-0, due out next month.
The screens will look familiar - these areas have been shown off in trailers for more or less a year now - but these presumably show what is…

Final Fantasy XV has been in the works for the better part of a decade. While it started its life as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Square Enix re-purposed the game as a mainline title for the new generation of consoles following E3 2013. Now, we're the better part of a month out from getting hands on with FFXV's demo - a portion of the game fans will have access to while they continue to wait for the full thing. Square…

Square Enix will be demonstrating the control schemes for Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae in their next Active Time Report, now dated for February 20th. The emergency notice promotes a 20:00 JST time for the broadcast, which will take place on both YouTube and NicoNico channels. Once again, director Hajime Tabata will take the stage to discuss the latest developments on FFXV's demo with a detailed walkthrough of the game's control systems as well as how to progress through the…

Square Enix is set to share even more insight behind the development practices of Final Fantasy XV with a behind the scenes panel scheduled for PAX East next month.
Taking place on March 7th from 3PM EST to 4PM EST, lead game designers Wan Hazmer and Prasert Prasertvithyakarn will take the stage to share their experiences working on the title to the public. Both Hazmer and Prasertvithyakarn work together in Tokyo bringing the game to final fruition after it's nearly 10-year…

Weekly Jump is back with another feature on Final Fantasy XV - focusing once again on the upcoming demo. This time we're treated to even more information and a look at the menus behind the game's oft promoted camping mechanics.
In the game, activities such as leveling up, acquiring buffs and other stat boots will happen whenever you choose to camp. You'll also be able to modify equipment here. As we've heard before, it gets dangerous at night in the Duscae…

Many fans had been wondering about the music featured in the latest promotional footage for Final Fantasy XV's upcoming demo, Episode Duscae. In the video, Square Enix used a rendition of the classic Final Fantasy main theme, which has been persistent throughout the majority of the long-standing series. The song's inclusion in itself wasn't too surprising - after all, we've already heard bits of the Prelude - but it was the familiarity of the arrangement itself that was throwing people…

Square Enix hasn't been exactly shy with their intentions and marketing surrounding Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. Since Tokyo Game Show, they've paired it alongside Final Fantasy XV and a new commercial the publisher has uploaded online continues that tradition.
The new video, aimed at the Japanese market, opens with footage from the latest bit of Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae promotional materials while reminding viewers that its inclusion with Type-0 HD is a first print bonus. That means, once the…